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I remember how much I loved Forever 21 (well, its prices) during my days as a struggling college student, but that romance is long over. In the past year alone, there have been a few reasons that turned our breakup from amicable to straight out hostile. In August, a leaked memo revealed the slashing of health care and other benefits for retail store associates. In September, they pulled NWA and Compton-inspired t-shirts modeled by thin white women thanks to much controversy after tweeting that they were “straight outta Compton.”

Unfortunately, it does not look like they have learned anything from the Compton line uproar. Once again, Forever 21 is giving us the opportunity to take a piece of “ratchet” culture – all for the low price of $6.80! But wait! Instead of modeling its racist product with thin white women, like it did last year, the company opted for an ethnically ambiguous woman to adorn the gold “ratchet,” as though all non-white communities are interchangeable.

If a dominant culture fancies some random element (a mode of dress, a manner of speaking, a style of music) of my culture interesting or exotic, but otherwise disdains my being and seeks to marginalize me, it is surely an insult.

And to add insult to injury, this makes me think: who is profiting from all of this? Definitely not the people who are being hurt by the racist ratchet stereotype. A recent report from The Atlantic reveals that the workforce is pretty damn racist with Black people constantly having the lowest rate of employment. The recession and housing bubble bust decimated Black American wealth. The median wealth for single black women adds up to a whopping $5.

At the end of the day it comes down to this. It’s frustrating (to say the least) to have parts of Black culture used to put down Black Americans and justify racism while they’re also used to line the pockets of rich, non-Black CEOs and other higher-ups in the company.

Wagatwe is guest contributor at Feministing. She was once deemed an “exceptionally articulate African-American student” by an Obama administration member.

For the past few months, I’ve seen several articles — almost exclusively writtenbywhite women — arguing that we shouldn’t enforce Title IX protections for survivors of sexual assault because the authors believe Black men are more likely to be accused. The narrative has been picked up by numerous media outlets and used by Education Secretary Betsy DeVos to strip protections for survivors.

The idea that survivors’ rights are a threat to Black men leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

Let me be clear: that’s not because I’m not worried about race discrimination in school discipline. We have no data to support the argument that Black men are more likely to be accused of or ...

For the past few months, I’ve seen several articles — almost exclusively writtenbywhite women — arguing that we shouldn’t enforce Title IX protections for survivors of sexual assault because the authors ...

Conservative journalist Laura Loomer went on a hateful, Islamophobic rampage on Twitter on Wednesday, posting photos and video she took of Muslim women in New York City. Unsurprisingly, Twitter has done nothing about it.

Labeling herself a proud Islamophobe, Loomer called Muslims “fucking savages,” Islam a “cancer” and alleged that Muslims were “all the same” and should “never be let into the civilized world.” Loomer also claimed that she was late to work at a New York Police Department press conference because it took her 30 minutes to find an Uber or a Lyft not driven by a Muslim driver, calling it “insanity” and demanding a version of a ridesharing app that would exclude “Islamic immigration drivers.” Her actions ...

Conservative journalist Laura Loomer went on a hateful, Islamophobic rampage on Twitter on Wednesday, posting photos and video she took of Muslim women in New York City. Unsurprisingly, Twitter has done nothing about it.

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